MONTREAL – After 19 months away from the sport, after battling through reconstructive knee surgery and while facing one of the sternest tests of his career, Georges St-Pierre proved once again why he has long been considered one of the greatest fighters in the history of MMA.

A battered and bloodied St-Pierre defended his UFC welterweight title in grand fashion as he took a unanimous-decision win over interim champ Carlos Condit.

isk »
Posted 12/5/07 12:38:00PM

Solid card overall with a few disappointments, but the main event wasn't one of them. Onward!

Georges St Pierre vs Carlos Condit - GSP defends his belt in a clear 4 rounds to a scary 1. If anyone ever doubted GSP's heart and resilience before, well, he just ate a clean head kick to the side of the dome and lasted through a known finisher's follow-up shots on the ground. GSP looked huge and generally dominated as he does, through smart (and perfect) takedowns, clean ground control, stout GnP, and just enough striking on the feet to earn his opponent's respect. Both guys were cut and bloody at the end, with GSP looking as beat up as he ever has (the first BJ Penn fight comes to mind). And to his credit, Condit landed that head kick in R3 and did his best to finish it up, but GSP was just too tough and too smart in defending. He also continues to be one of the most genuinely magnanimous guys in front of a mic.

I've long felt that GSP would get eaten by Anderson Silva, and this fight confirmed it. A slightly tentative Condit had him in trouble for a minute, so the Spider would maul him at some point in 5 rounds. That said, the Hendricks fight just got a lot more interesting, and we might just see a Condit / MacDonald rematch as well.

Johny Hendricks vs Martin Kampmann - A quick KO for Hendricks at 0:46 of R1. What else is there to say? Kampmann has one of the most epic chins in MMA, and he was out in 2 punches. Hendricks came up a bit short with a right hook but followed up with a straight left which parked Kampmann, and a follow-up left removed all doubt. Kampmann was back up soon after and in good spirits, showing the awesome recovery and spirit he always has. He'll still be around, right, and he's one of my favorite fighters, but Hendricks has in my mind earned the next WW title shot.

Francis Carmont vs Tom Lawlor - A paper thin split for Carmont. Even harder to score than the Carvalho/Damm matchup, both talented guys who basically neutralized each other. Lawlor favored a clinch-heavy strategy while Carmont preferred to throw body kicks from distance. Solid shots landed by each, with Lawlor going for guillotines a couple times that were defended well by Carmont. I expect this kind of a fight from Lawlor, he's a strong wrestler who has punched himself out in the past. But from Carmont? Dude needs to pull the trigger more. He's way too talented to fight so tentatively.

JESUS H CHRIST, DID YOU SEE MACHIDA'S MOUSTACHE

Rafael Dos Anjos vs Mark Bocek - Dos Anjos dominates in all 3 rounds. This fight was all about the smooth strikes of Dos Anjos, and the difficulty in which Bocek had in taking it to the ground. What impressed me was not only Dos Anjos' TDD but his consistency to make Bocek pay for the stuffed shots. Dos Anjos even managed to get some takedowns of his own and apply pressure in close. He might've tweaked his right leg a bit near the end of R3, but he kept moving around well enough to finish strong. I still like Bocek, he's one of the best grapplers in the UFC with no quit in him. Seriously, check out his face after the fight - it was a sanguine ruin. Presuming Dos Anjos' drug test comes back clean, I really do (but wow, he was a physical specimen on display), so if it does, I'd like to see him fight an even better opponent. I was calling for BJ Penn earlier tonight, but at this point, I wouldn't be opposed to Dos Anjos welcoming Gil Melendez to the UFC.

Quick bumper of Demetrious Johnson getting a new car for being the first UFC 125 lb champion. I can't have been the only guy wondering if it came with a booster seat.

Pablo Garza vs Mark Hominick - Garza takes a bloody unanimous 3R grind. We opened up with alternating, high-paced strikes culminating in a Hominick a liver shot/left hook to the dome that stumbled Garza who then returned with a scraping hook that sliced the left side of Hominick's face. That hook was the shift of the fight, as Garza ruined the other side of Hominick's face through GnP in R2. Hominick looked to be winning R3 early but gave up a takedown that Garza turned into smothering pressure for the rest of the match. No discredit to Garza who fought smart and tough, but it seemed like Hominick wasn't able to string enough moves together to get out of trouble. He'd go halfway to an omoplata but not quite finish it, then fail at it worse in a later attempt.

=== Undercard ===

Patrick Cote vs Alessio Sakara - Cote wins by disqualification at 1:27 of R1. To put it mildly, this was a surprise. None at all that Cote had Sakara hurt early, but the turn started with an exchange on the fence. Sakara was very smart here and executed some of the best strikes to use against a guy with an iron jaw, and that's elbows to the side of the head. A good chin doesn't matter when your equilibrium's all cocked up. Several rabbit punch hammerfists from Sakara drew the ire from the crowd. These were totally on the mohawk strip with no warning or intervention from Miragliotta. A rare misstep in a crisis from Big Dan, this was a hard one to call - step in and give a wounded guy time to recover, or let it play until one guy is clearly out? I don't blame Sakara overmuch here, as he smelled blood and went after it, and Cote was doing his best to grab a leg and stay upright. That said, I think the camera and production guys were having a little fun while we were waiting for the official decision by flashing back and forth between Sakara (boos from the crowd) and Cote (cheers). Personally, I called this a no contest, and these guys need to rematch soon. Sakara was way more competitive than I expected.

Cyrille Diabate vs Chad Griggs - Shocking RNC for Diabate at 2:24 of R1. Seriously. It started with a sharp straight left from Diabate as Griggs was coming in. And after that, well, who expected a bodylock takedown and rear naked choke for Diabate? Outside of Nate Silver, no one. Some of the knees were a bit questionable as Griggs was playing the 3-point-stance game, but there's no question that he got tagged and bagged. Really glad Diabate made it to the UFC, and though I know it'll never happen, I'd die happy if he fought Anderson Silva in a 5 rounder.

Sam Stout vs John Makdessi - Definite 3R for Makdessi. A striker's delight as presumed. Seemed like each had a 1-2 strikes that worked especially well, with Stout's leg kicks and body shots against Makdessi's jab. To his credit, Stout did a better job of changing levels and striking all areas, but Makdessi was the superior counterfighter with far more total strikes landed. Stout attempted several takedowns, all of which were a bit telegraphed and easily stuffed by Makdessi. The Bull was a goddamn matador tonight.

Antonio Carvalho vs Rodrigo Damm - A close split for Carvalho. A good display of smart, technical striking that could've been more exciting and had almost none of the expected ground wizardry. Super nasty leg kicks from Carvalho, taking advantage of Damm's exposed front left leg and racking up tons of damage. Damm generally had the edge in punches, though, especially in R3 with a few solid combinations. Awesome little ground scramble at 2:00 of R2, over in a flash but very entertaining. Probably the most significant strike of the fight was a combo ending in a right punch from Carvalho near the end of R2, and that probably won him the round (and maybe the fight). Damm struck me as reluctant to engage until R3, and Carvalho seemed like a one-strike Shotokan Karate type. Either way, these guys have to get after it more if they want Joe Silva to blow up their phones.

Matt Riddle vs John Maguire - Super close 3R decision for Riddle. Good back-and-forth scrap, mostly on the feet with a bit of ground and clinch work, very hard to score as neither guy was knocked down and the submission attempts came at the end of R2 and R3. The most exciting move was a flying spinning back kick / takedown escape by Riddle at around the 3:00 mark in R1. As much as Riddle is improving and progressing - his defense of guillotines late in R2 and R3 were technical and intelligent - he still has a tendency to throw his punches with limited range. He's so big at WW that I feel he'd be super dangerous by leaning into his punches more, by feinting more and really digging in with his strikes. And Maguire's certainly tough with expert technique, but he's a little too counter-minded and controlled right now to beat the best.

Ivan Menjivar vs Azamat Gashimov - Lightning-quick armbar by Menjivar at 2:14 of R1. Like a lot of talented young guys, Gashimov looked good early, countering well on the feet and persisting through a stuffed shot into a trip takedown. From there, Menjivar kept attacking with reverse armbar attempts and upkicks while Gashimov attempted to control from full guard with decent GnP. Almost out of nowhere, Menjivar turned his hips to the side, locked up the left arm, and flipped Gashimov over to lock up one of the nastiest armbars I've ever seen. Gashimov even screamed in pain before tapping out. Outcome wasn't too surprising, a rookie prospect vs a proven veteran that went the way of experience, but the kind of quick, satisfying fight perfect for an undercard.

Darren Elkins vs Steven SiIer - Clear 30-27 decision for Elkins. The whole fight was Elkins, landing just a bit more on the feet and grinding it out on the ground with stout GnP and submission attempts in turn. Siler was very active off the bottom with big upkicks, sneaky guard recoveries, and subtly smart submission defense, but he was outworked the whole time. Nice anaconda attempt by Siler at the end of the fight that wasn't enough. Siler should've rolled to his back and locked it in for it to be a real threat with the limited time left. Rogan made a good point in that Siler fights with his head straight up. Siler's tall for FW, but I think he fights a bit too tall. He continued to show the resilience we saw in his prior fights, and he's young enough to address those weaknesses. As for Elkins, man, I felt he got a gift against Omigawa, but now I'm sold on him. Solid fighter I'll watch anytime.

emfleek »
Posted 11/18/07 4:54:00PM

Posted by isk

JESUS H CHRIST, DID YOU SEE MACHIDA'S MOUSTACHE

Story of the night!

_______________________________________"I'm like the superhero coming in with the anti-bullsh*t." - Nick Diaz

bojangalz »
Posted 5/25/07 9:00:00PM

Posted by isk

That said, the Hendricks fight just got a lot more interesting, and we might just see a Condit / MacDonald rematch as well.

yeah, probably not in his next fight though. Joe Silva generally matches winners against winners and losers against losers. If MacDonald beats Penn he'll face someone coming off a win next. Odds are we'll see the Condit/Kampmann rematch next since both those guys lost tonight. And that fight was a complete barn-burner, so I won't be disappointed at all if that's what happens.

Mhm, totally. That was more on the off chance that Penn upsets MacDonald. That would set it up perfectly.

Twenty20Dollars »
Posted 6/21/07 4:27:00PM

Who's next for GSP?

Sonnen?

kingsmasher »
Posted 3/10/11 4:01:00PM

Well IMO tonight shows just how far GSP is actually from a superfight with Silva....I never thought he wanted to and after tonight that fight IMO is way less appealing...

isk »
Posted 12/5/07 12:38:00PM

Quick update on bonuses, $70k each -

Fight - GSP/ConditKO - HendricksSub - Menjivar

I would've given FOTN to Garza/Hominick, but GSP/Condit was really good.

Manak »
Posted 6/29/07 12:28:00PM

Posted by Twenty20Dollars

Who's next for GSP?

Sonnen?

lol but it looks like it is anderson as dana said he will make it happen in may... espy quoted andy though

"I have my plans. First, the people are talking Anderson and St-Pierre," Silva said at Bell Centre before the start of UFC 154. "Now the people are talking Anderson and Jon Jones.

"My first goal is the Georges St-Pierre fight, the superfight. And the second goal, maybe Jon Jones. I don't know.

"This is not my decision. This is Dana White's decision."

aussiemma »
Posted 1/27/12 10:34:00PM

best gsp fight i have seen...condit really brought it to him.

JoeWarren33 »
Posted 4/27/09 4:41:00PM

Was a good event.I thought Makdessi looked great vs Stout. Very good head work on the defensive end on Makdessi as well.

Gsp looked human again, and i agree, one of the more enjoyable fights in a long time fo him in awhile.

Dberntson »
Posted 6/16/09 12:09:00PM

Although I still would like to see it, Silva would be a bad and very tough fight for GSP. The size and reach advantages alone make this a bad fight for Rush. Silva would easily be 20#s heavier than GSP come fight time, even at 170, and probably more at a catchweight. GSPs only chance would be his wrestling and ground control, which is a lot harder with a much bigger fighter.

Lucas »
Posted 2/5/07 9:28:00AM

Posted by kingsmasher

Well IMO tonight shows just how far GSP is actually from a superfight with Silva....I never thought he wanted to and after tonight that fight IMO is way less appealing...

I agree with you that a super fight with GSP & Anderson Silva isn't that appealing because i think Silva wins comfortably and GSP is my favourite fighter.

One thing we learned about GSP which people have questioned since his loss to Serra is how will he react when he's really hurt and in trouble we saw that last night and he responded like a champion and against a fighter with killer instict which i thought was impressive. So although i still don't think the super fight should happen for GSPs sake his performance certainly didn't make me think he's any further from a super fight than i did before hand.

Goatenstein »
Posted 4/27/12 11:03:00AM

Condit knocked him down once and then GSP got up and took him back to school. This wasn't the great fight it's being made out to be.